Tuesday, 6 January 2015

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) will introduce six new fees and streamline its regulatory fee structure for businesses, said the regulator in a statement on Wednesday (Oct 8).

ACRA said the new fees were introduced following the recent passing by Parliament of the Companies (Amendment) Bill, the Business Names Registration Bill and the ACRA (Amendment) Bill. The new fees include those for application for registration or annual renewal as a Qualified Individual for Corporate Service Providers.

At the same time, some businesses may have to pay higher annual fees following the streamlining of the fee structure. According to ACRA, the increase will range from S$10 to S$40 per year depending on the business type.

For sole-proprietorships, partnerships and limited partnerships, there will also be a fee increase of S$50 for the initial registration of the business. ACRA added that the increase is necessary to ensure that its operating costs to maintain an accurate and comprehensive register of business entities can continue to be recovered at cost.

Meanwhile, fees related to ad-hoc applications for waivers, exemptions or extension of time to comply with statutory requirements such as filing of accounts and holding the annual general meeting will also increase by a range of S$30 to S$170. ACRA explained this is to adequately reflect the resources spent to process such applications.

These fee changes will take effect with the implementation of the legislative changes, which is expected to take place no later than first quarter of 2015.